Knew You Would Stop Me
by The-Fabulous-Person
Summary: "Why did we ever want this? Is this really… what the greater good looks like?" For a second, they were just a couple of seventeen-year-olds again, eyes wide in awe of what they aspired to. Only now, they saw Truth. T to be safe.


**Okay, okay, you know what?**

**I need to stick to one-shots apparently. Gah, whatever.**

**Fleeting inspriation is fleeting friends.**

**My rambling aside, my point today is that Hitokugutsu on deviantArt inspired me with her pic "Knew You Would Stop Me". Go check it out. Now. I command you. Let's see if the link works this time, ja?**

**Just delete the spaces:**

**http : / hitokugutsu . deviantart . com / art / Knew-you-would-stop-me- 119993881**

**If that doesn't work, just go to deviantArt and type in the title. Should pop up.**

**Anyway. Onto the story which, btw, came out a bit darker and angsty-...er than I intentioned. My first idea had lots of witty banter and cool spells and shit...**

**But you guys know me.**

**Fucking sap.**

**Anyway, long Author's Note over, read the one at the bottom of the story, and thanks Hitokugutsu for the inspiration.**

**Wait! One more thing: There are a few italics that are Gellert's thoughts, but most of the italics are a flashback.**

**Just lettin' ya know.**

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"_Ouch!"_

"_Oooh, sorry Gel…"_

_This hurts…_

There were things broken. Things torn. Things bleeding. Bleeding inside him… It hurt.

His teeth grit together in rage that was not his, in fury that had possessed him as the equally battered enemy staggered to its feet and sent another volley of curses at him.

He barely dodged in time, and something twisted painfully deep inside him.

_This hurts…_

How could there be so much pain? Surely… surely he was the better wizard? He'd always been the best, the greatest.

_The blonde suckled on his finger sullenly, glaring at the stupid little device his companion was paying all his attention to. He'd snatched it from the other male's hands playfully, intending to force the stoic, studious ginger to pay attention to him. The object had sparked and sent a jolt of pain and fire through his finger. "Stupid contraption."_

"_I'm sorry Gel, I told you I hadn't finished working on it!"_

He hissed, shaking bloodied bangs from his face as he rose and fired his own curses at the other man. Too late, he realized, what was coming from his mouth, and only barely managed to flick his wand in the wrong direction. "_AVADA KEDAVRA!"_ It hit a muggle sign and rebounded before disappearing off into the night sky.

He didn't have time to fully appreciate the fury, the… the betrayal and hatred that suddenly boiled in those striking blue eyes.

"_I still say that thing is a waste of time. You keep tinkering with these idiotic inventions of yours Al, and we'll never get where we're going."_

"Give up, Grindlewald."

The name cut through him worse than a misfired Diffindo charm. "Never. Don't you realize, you narrow-minded idiot, that this _all is for the greater good?"_

_The blonde's companion froze, his eyes locked on the 'contraption'. The blonde seemed to realize he'd said something terribly wrong, but it wasn't until the other turned to stare at him with hurt-filled, piercing blue eyes did he feel any real pang of regret. The ginger… _his _ginger just glared at him for a long, hard moment. "I. Am not. An idiot."_

There was a crack, and thunderous boom like thunder and lightning as they flew apart, riding the upheaving stone of the muggle street they'd landed on.

Wordless spells flashed between them again and again: blues, greens, reds. White-hot flashes of energy that singed their robes, caught ruined buildings on fire. Buildings were leveled. Blood arced from their bodies in a magnificent fashion.

_The blonde hurriedly looked away, eyes narrowed, nose lifted haughtily into the air as he ignored his companion._

_His companion sighed and tossed the object he'd been trying to enchant onto the grass beside him. "You're such a child Gel."_

"_Am not!"_

_The 'ginger', as his companion affectionately referred to him, was amused. He decided not to point out the fact that the blonde had just done a terrible job of proving the red-head's observation wrong. He shifted until he was mirroring the blonde's position: leaning back with the weight on his hands, place behind him. His legs crossed._

_It was such a nice day. Seemed a shame to waste it indoors when they had all the time in the world to plan._

It was not possible for this amount of pain to be reality. He hadn't been hit that many times… had he? Stupid wand! This was all its fault! Wasn't the stupid thing supposed to be unbeatable? _No! _He thought savagely. _Obviously not!_

_He was just using the boy, he reminded himself. Just using the-_

_Why then, did his heart and stomach and… merlin's pants, why did _all _of his squishy innards jump into his throat when he heard the faint tap-tap-tapping of the little barn owl? If he was using the boy, why did something rush inside him every time he saw the boy? Every time he was too near the boy? Every time they made some astonishing new developments in their plan, or bantered back and forth until it drove those around them mad? Why did he scramble off his bed at nearing four in the morning to eagerly yank open his window and pull the letter from the beak of the tiny creature, wishing that instead of taking the time to pass notes, he could just go climb up that helpful, sturdy wall of ivy beneath the boy's window?_

The Reducto jinx shattered the ground beneath his feet, throwing him into the air to crash back down some ten feet away.

_That stupid little boy, getting in the way of his brother's plans, hindering his genius. He wanted to smite the silly child; it had no place in _their _world, not the world he and _his _ginger were setting out to create._

_He told the brat that, waving his hand dismissively as he wrapped his other around his only friend's left elbow, intending to force the man from the room if need be. He was positive he could. He always won their brawls, always overpowered the bespectacled, purple-clad, stoic little bookworm…_

It happened before he could stop himself again. It had to be the wand. The Destiny Stick, whatever. It was the wand forcing his arm out, pointing at the face of the one person he had ever, truly, cared about besides himself. "_CRUCIO!"_ was his furious, desperate command.

_Everything was chaos: dust, smoke, curse;, that blasted girl screaming her loony head off, his ginger screaming at them all to stop as he too sent his spells into the fray._

_Then he heard it. The different type of screaming. That god-awful keening as the last two Dumbledores dropped to the little girl's side…_

_He…_

_He ran._

_Why was he… where was this pain coming from? It'd started when those eyes… those piercing blue eyes that he'd stared into far too many times… only this time they were staring back with hatred, betrayal, fear, grief, self-loathing, desperation…_

_He'd ignored the stupid old bat's questioning as he backed his things._

_Going. Going. Leaving. That was all he would tell her._

_Nothing's wrong. Have to go. She kept asking what had happened, if he was alright._

His own eyes locked onto those hurt, furious blue ones as their owner deflected the curse and sent it back at him.

The jet of concentrated agony hit him square in the chest, raised him off his feet. He felt himself lifted into the air as every fiber, damaged or whole, screamed in anguish. This spell alone would surely finish him.

But quite suddenly, and with horrific, almost painful clarity, the ground was rushing up to meet him.

Stronger arms slid under him, supporting him, stopping his descent.

"…_I don't think you're an idiot, Albus."_

_Albus looked up, bewildered by the expression on Gellert's face. It had turned from haughty to slightly embarrassed, perhaps a bit guilty. Gellert never called him anything other than Al or ginger… Except when he was being serious or…_

_Albus blushed furiously and glanced sideways at the stupid device. "Yeah well… sometimes it seems like you do. Sometimes it feels like you're just using me on this crazy plan of yours…"_

_Gellert felt something twist inside him, and he shot the boy a slightly pained look. But Albus was still looking furiously away, all amusement at his friend's childish antics gone. Gellert shifted, uncomfortable, and moved closer to the purple-clad male. One of his slender arms slipped over his companion's shoulder, and snaked across his chest. He pulled the reluctant Albus against his own chest, resting his chin on the purple shoulder as he turned his face into that delightful ginger hair… "You're not an idiot Albus. What would I gain by 'using' you?"_

_Albus sighed, and noticed as Gellert's other hand sneaked up to grip his knee that it's long, elegant pointer finger was still badly singed. He examined the slightly burnt flesh for a moment before he reached out, gingerly wrapped both hands around Gellert's and pulled the injured appendage to his face. He pressed his lips to the burn and quickly set it back on his knee. "There…" He murmured._

_Gellert had watched the whole thing with an air of bewilderment. "Why'd you do that?" He questioned, his tone that of a curious child. Even seated behind Albus, he could see the flush that came to the pale cheeks. "It's… well… whenever Arrianna gets hurt… well… she likes Abe to… to kiss her 'owies', as they call them." He murmured._

Gellert Grindlewald, broken and beaten at last after so many years of rampage and destruction, fell gratefully into the arms that had always been his only real home.

"I… I…"

"Shh." Even with the blood rushing in his ears, the pressure beneath his skull, threatening to dislodge his eyeballs, he could hear every emotion in that grave voice. Of course he could. He'd, without intending to, without realizing it, memorized that voice over the course of two short months. "It's over… Gel."

Gellert tried to chuckle, but it came out as a series of weak, pained sob-like sounds. "Over…"

He felt the arms holding him shift, wrapping more securely around him as a pleasant, warm pressure was applied to the crown of his head. "Why did we ever want this?" The gravelly voice came from above him. "Is this really… what the greater good looks like?" And for a second, they were just a couple of seventeen-year-olds again, eyes wide in awe of what they learned, of what they aspired to. Only now, they both saw Truth.

Gellert let out that wheezed almost-chuckle again. "W… we were… s… stupid…"

He felt the presence on the top of his head leave, and felt something new press against the gash on his forehead. "Yes."

"Knew you would stop me…" His voice came back a bit stronger as he lifted a weak hand to cling to Albus's ridiculous purple robes… always purple… "It's… it's dangerous Albus. It's not what I wanted."

"I know."

"I… I'm s-so-" But before he could finish, as voices sounded in the distance, something shifted between the two of them and Gellert's head was gently lifted up so a pair of lips also perfectly memorized in his mind could brush against his. But this memory was wrong. There was bitterness, despair, grief… the rusty taste of blood…

"I know. I forgive you Gel." The broken wizard felt fingers untintentionally dig into his back, the grip around his caved torso tightening. "I forgive you. Please… please forgive me."

He didn't respond. He couldn't. Whatever energy he'd had left had been trying to return that briefest of kisses. Everything around him faded to black as the voices grew nearer, and Albus laid him out in the rubble, a fierce expression on his face that did not match the grief in his eyes as he took the Elder wand, and pointed his own at his fading friend.

No one knew. No one would ever know that they had ever once been more than two geniuses involved in a fleeting summer friendship.

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**There it is, in all it's glory(sarcasm folks).**

**Anyway, my final note is I still need ideas for my Megamind Christmas Fluff fic. If you are reading my Megamind One-Shots, you already know of this. If not, and you're interested in being a kindly passer-by and offering your two cents, it's much appreciated. Check the final chapter of my Megamind One Shots for info.**


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